The European Commission has found Meta to be in preliminary breach of the European Union’s Digital Services Act (DSA) over alleged failures to protect children online.
In a statement released on April 29, the Commission outlined multiple concerns about Meta’s safeguards on Facebook and Instagram, particularly regarding underage users.
“Despite Meta’s own terms and conditions setting the minimum age to access Instagram and Facebook safely at 13, the measures put in place by the company to enforce these restrictions do not seem to be effective,” the Commission said.
“The measures do not adequately prevent minors under the age of 13 from accessing their services nor promptly identify and remove them, if they have already gained access,” it added.
“The DSA requires platforms to enforce their own rules: terms and conditions should not be mere written statements, but rather the basis for concrete action to protect users — including children,” said EC Executive Vice-President Henna Virkkunen.
Brussels also criticised Meta’s reporting mechanisms, arguing they were ineffective.
According to the Commission, the tool for flagging underage users can require up to seven clicks to access and is not automatically populated with relevant user data.
Even when reports are submitted, follow-up action is often lacking, allowing underage accounts to remain active without meaningful checks, it said.
“Even when a minor under 13 is reported for being under the age threshold, there often is no proper follow-up, and the reported minor can simply continue to use the service without any type of check,” the Commission added.
It further stated that Meta’s current risk assessment framework was insufficient, calling on the company to revise how it identifies and evaluates risks affecting minors across its EU services.
“At this stage, the Commission considers that Instagram and Facebook must change their risk assessment methodology, in order to evaluate which risks arise on Instagram and Facebook in the European Union, and how they manifest,” the EC said.
The Commission also said Meta’s assessment appeared to contradict evidence across the EU indicating that roughly 10 to 12 per cent of children under 13 were accessing Instagram and/or Facebook.
Meta must now respond to the findings in writing.
If the Commission ultimately confirms its preliminary conclusions, it could adopt a formal non-compliance decision. Under the DSA, this may result in fines of up to 6 per cent of the company’s total global annual turnover.
Meta said Instagram and Facebook were intended for users aged 13 and over, adding that it had measures in place to detect and remove underage accounts and that it was continuing to invest in technologies to identify such users.
The preliminary findings come as the Commission steps up pressure on large social media platforms over the protection of minors online.
On the same day, Brussels also urged EU member states to accelerate the rollout of an age-verification tool designed to allow users to prove they meet minimum age requirements without directly handing identity documents to online platforms.
